Roller bearing shackle



Aug. 22, 1939. J. w. LEIGH'roN 2,170,455

ROLLER BEARING snows.Y f

' Fund 1v, 1936 Patented ug. 22, 1939 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLLER BEARING SHACKLE John W. Leighton, Port Huron, Mich.

Application October 17, 1936, Serial No. 106,107

2 Claims. (Cl. 287-93) The invention relates to oscillatory joints and -drical portion I5A outwardly of and adjacent to it has particular relation to a joint having a pivthe shoulder and a threaded major portion IS otal, threaded bearing. outwardly of the cylindrical portion l5. A bush- One object of the invention is to provide an ing i8 is threaded oiiithepor-tion I6 of the U bolt 5 improved oscillatory joint which has substantialt0 provide a threaded pivotal bearing and the 5. ly all of the advantages of a pivotal threaded external surface of the bushing is provided with bearing while obtaining certain advantages of a shallow threads 20 that threadedly engageine roller bearing joint. interior surface of the spring eye l l. When the Another object of the invention is to provide bushing is threaded tightly into the spring eye,

l0 a joint which combines the features of a pivotal e heXegOnal head 2l 0n the Outer end 0f the 10 threaded bearing and a roller bearing and which bushing jams against the end of the eyeand this, is simple in construction, economical to manuin conjunction with the shallow nature ofthe facture, and Which may be assembled without threads 20, tightly lOCkS the bushing in th difficulty. spring eye against rotation therein. Y

Another object of the invention is to provide Y The inner end 0f the bushing OVel e miner u an oscillatory joint generally of the aforesaid DOltiOn 0f its length has an enlarged' internal character, which is particularly adapted for use diamelerl OVeIlylng a portion Of the Cylindrical in connection with U-shaped shackles, part I5 of the U bolt and between this'enlarged other objects of the invention will become diameter 0f the bushing and the cylindrical part, apparent from the following specification, the an annular series of roller bearings 22 are pro- 20 drawing relating thereto, and from the claims Vldefi- The Outer ends 0f these IleIS engage hereinafter set forth, an annular shoulder v23 at the inner end of the For a better understanding of the invention, thread-S 0n the bushing and this SelVeS '00 locate reference may be had `to the drawing wherein the outer ends of the rollers. A resilient sealing Figure 1 is a side elevational view illustrating y element 25 1 5 DOSltlOned 0n` the cylindrical DOI- 25 a U-shaped shackle constructed according to tion l5 in engagement With the Shoulder I4 and one form of the present invention, a washer 26 is disposed between this element and Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken substanthe ends of the rollers. A second smaller Washtially along the line 2 2 of Fig, 1 er 21 is provided between the washer 26 and the 30 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of end face of the bushing and this second washer 30 a, similar shackle embodying another form of extends around the ends of the rollers. The the invention, arrangement of parts is such that fwhen: the

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on a larger bushing la iS threaded intO the ASpring eye, its

- scale taken substantially along the line 4 4 of, inner end is tightly fOICed against the Washers Fig, 3, l and hence againstv the resilient element 25 and 36 Fig. 5 is e detailed view illustrating one of the this 'insures a tight seal for preventing leaks of roller bearings embodied in the structure Shown lubricant from the end of the joint. It likewise by Figures 3 and 4, of course prevents ingress of dirt. It will be Fig, 6 is a, fragmentary cross5ectiona1 View appreciated that the rollers will be held in axial 4o of another type of shackle embodying a rouer position between the washer 26 and the shoulder 4o bearing arrangement snbstannauy like that A23, although the washer 26 can, if the forces shown by Fig. 3. Y are sufllcient, resiliently give and accordinglyv Referring to Figures'l and 2, a bracket mountthe rollers never can be bound undesirably by ed on the frame of the automobile is indicated axial fOICeS at l0, a spring eye on the end of a leaf spring The Outer end 0f the bi1-Shing iS elOSed by 45 is indicated at Il, and a Ushaped shackle bolt means of a Welch plug 30 having 8- greee tting pivotally connecting the bracket and eye is indi- 3| threaded thereinto, so as to provide forlubricated at l2. In general this assembly is not cation. Inasmuch as the threaded engagement new and the present invention is concerned only between the bolt and the bushing is of pivotal with the pivotal connection between one or character, necessarily there is some clearance 50 both ends of the U bolt and the bracket and and the lubricant under pressure can readily spring eye. travel to the inner end of the threads. How- Referring now to the cross-sectional view in ever, the seal is always positive and resilient Fig. 2, it will be noted that the lower end of the even .though some oscillation of the joint should ,5,5 Ll bolt has a shoulder H at its inner end. a cylinvtend to move the bushing outwardly with respect to the bolt. Preferably, the resilient element 25 is composed of rubber and therefore it is constantly under compressive forces or is in a state of compression, so that it constantly maintains a seal even during oscillatory movement of the bushing and bolt respectively.

it will be appreciated that the joint assembly is of the pivotal threaded bearing type inasmuch as the threads extend substantially throughout the length of the bushing. However, the rollers at the inner end of the bolt assist in maintaining the bushing and bolt accurately centered and therefore provide a smooth oscillatory bearing. In some cases there is a tendency for slight noises to occur in a pivotal threaded bearing due to the clearances, especially when the oscillatory parts tend to move relatively in a vertical direction. On the other hand, the threaded bearing cooperates in preventing relative sidewise movement of the oscillatory parts of the joint.

Referring to Figure 3, a similar arrangement is provided, but in this case the bushing indicated at 33 is threaded internally to its inner end and the leg of the U bolt is substantially the same as shown in Figure 2, excepting that it has a shorter cylindrical portion 34. Additionally, the diameter of the threaded portion, as well as the ,portion 34, is smallerthan the diameter of the leg in the structure shown by Figure 2, and the internal diameter of the bushing is slightly larger than the internal diameter of the bushing shown in Figure 2. Between the internal threads on the bushing and the external threads on the bolt, a series of rollers 35 is provided, and as best shown by Figure 5, each of the rollers has alternating recesses 36 and ridges 31. The bases of the recesses are cylindrical and it will be noted in Figure 5 that the apices of the threads on the bushing and on the bolt are similarly flattened so as to cooperate with the nat bases of the recesses. Accordingly, the rollers have an intertting, rolling engagement with the threaded surfaces. In an oscillatory movement of the joint,

the rollers will turn on their own axes and rollA on the threads and some, although slight, inward and outward movement of the rollers along the axis of the joint will naturally occur. The inner end of the joint is sealed by one of the rubber sealing elements 26 which engages the shoulder I4 on the bolt and the inner end face of the bushing. It of course will be understood that this element, which Vs preferably composed of rubber, Will be constantly under pressure and therefore will seal the end of the joint even if some relative longitudinal movement of the bolt and bushing occurs due to oscillation on the threads.

According to Figure 6, the same type of joint, as shown by Figure 3, is provided, excepting that side bars 40 -and 4I are provided that may form part of the conventional type of side bar shackle. In this construction, the bolt 42 is threaded through the bar 40, through a spring eye 43, and through the side bar 4I. Beyond the side bar 40, the threads on the bolt have flattened apices similar to the threads on the bolt in Fig. 3, and between the internal threads in the eye and the external threads on the bolt, a'series of the rollers 35 is provided. Rubber sealing elements A44 and 45 are provided between the ends of the eye 43 and the bars 4B and 4| respectively. It will be understood that the bolt is locked to the bars 40 and 4I, but that the eye 43 is oscillatory on the bolt. This locking may be eilected by means of a head 46 on the bolt outwardly of the bar 40 which abuts a. sealing washer 41, so that when the bolt is tightened, the threaded engagement between the bolt and bars locks the bolt in place. A grease tting 48 and passages 49 and 50 in the bolt enable lubricating the roller bearings and threads.

Although more than one form of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made Without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A joint comprising outer and inner rela.` tively rotatable members having internal and exa ternal threads respectively, and a series of elongated rollers between the threads and having alternating circular grooves and ridges for receiving the threads.

2. A joint comprising outer and inner relatively rotatable members having internal and external threads respectively, said threads having :flattened apices so as to provide substantially cylindrical bearing surfaces, and a series of rollers between the threads and having circular grooves and flattened portions for receiving the threads and engaging the flattened thread apices.

JOHN W. LEIGHTON. 

